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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Canada: Alexandre Despatie

Alexandre Despatie (born June 8, 1985) is a Canadian diver, from Laval, Quebec. He was the World champion at the 1 and 3 m springboards from 2005 to 2007 and is the first, and so far only, diver to have been World champion in the three categories (1, 3 and 10 m platform). He is also a 37-time Canadian senior diving champion, and 9-time junior champion. At the age of 13 he won a gold medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Despatie attended College Andre Grasset and lives with his parents. In an interview with the CBC in the lead-up to the 2004 Olympics, he said he was interested in acting and television and movie production, and may pursue that as a career once he is no longer diving, although he is also known to support groups and aspiring divers and to help them fulfill their dreams through private contributions to youth diving leagues. He has held diving clinics which aim to give young divers lessons and valuable experience.

In August 2006, Despatie started shooting his first feature film in Montreal. The movie, a teenage romantic comedy called À vos marques! Party! (On your mark! Party!) was released in Quebec in March 2007. Despatie played a small but important part of a diver who is the friend and confidant of a young female swimmer.

He has since moved towards a career in broadcasting, joining the broadcast team for Canada's French-language television coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC, Canada.